Fiddle contest brings out local talent

Lorain County Fair attendees harnessed their musical talent on Aug. 25.

The 16th annual fiddle contest featured contestants both young and old in eight different divisions of competition with a total of 17 competitors at the fairgrounds in Wellington including many Lorain County fiddlers.

While Charlie Daniels was nowhere in sight, contestants brought out their best hoedowns, waltzes and fiddle jams in a packed house at Show Barn 4.

Organizer Doug Allen said in 2018 said over the past couple of years of the contest they added a beginners division with no age restrictions in order to encourage people to take up the instrument and have the opportunity to compete.

“We intentionally created a beginner class a few years ago because I was approached by some 40 somethings, some 50 somethings and some 60 somethings, some people who are retired and they thought, we would love to learn the fiddle,” Allen said.

“We wanted a place for them to come compete.”

Beginners played two songs: a hoedown followed by a waltz while competitors in the other divisions play a third song of their choice in any genre.

The contest was followed by a picking contest for guitar, banjo and mandolin players in addition to a novelty contest where instruments of all types were welcome.

“That basically opens the door to almost any other instrument that’s not in the picking class. We’ve had cellos before, we’ve had autoharps, we’ve had harmonica’s, we’ve had dobros, and on and on and on,” Allen said.

Pamela Hunt of Mansfield competing in the beginner joked that she had a few years to go before she turned 80 and took up the fiddle later in life performing Old Joe Clark and Margaret’s Waltz.

“And actually I am a late beginner in fiddle. Unfortunately I grew up in a school district down in southern Ohio and our orchestra teacher died in 1964 and they have yet to replace her,” Hunt said.

Full results of the fiddle contest are available at fairfiddle.com

Other festivities taking place at the Fair included open class beef cattle judging, a variety of horse pulls and the evening combine and pick-up truck derby.

The final day of the Lorain County Fair is Aug. 26 with gates opening at 8 a.m. and featuring the demolition derby at 4 p.m.